In the Kursk region of Russia, in particular in the town of Sudzha, in the context of hostilities, local residents began to actively go over to the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), creating territorial defence units. This process was made possible by a change in the situation, which, according to Ukrainian defenders, gave the Russians the necessary motivation to act.
Ukrainian fighters currently on Russian territory told Hromadske that in Sudzha, located in the Kursk region, locals who did not leave the combat zone organized their territorial defense.
Ukrainian soldiers described entering the town, where they were initially met by frightened residents who expected to be brutally treated. However, the Ukrainians helped them, providing them with water and directing them to shelters to safety.
According to the defenders, the operation in Sudzha took place in stages: Ukrainian forces cleared streets and basements, trying to minimize threats to the civilian population. One of the fighters shared that during the operation they met an elderly woman who moved to Sudzha from Kharkov after her house was destroyed by Russian airstrikes. In addition, in one of the yards, the fighters met a family who came out to meet the military, fearing for their lives. Ukrainian fighters calmed them down, advising them to take the necessary things and go down to the basement for protection.
The fighters paid special attention to the fact that the men who remained in the combat zone in the Kursk region not only organized territorial defense, but also established cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military emphasized that many of the local residents had been planning such a move for a long time, but lacked motivation. With the arrival of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the situation has changed and now many of them are actively taking the side of Ukraine, seeing this as an opportunity to support their relatives living on Ukrainian territory.
Earlier, Kursor reported that the bet on a sudden attack on Kursk did not materialize.
Russia is rapidly approaching the capture of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city in the Donetsk region.
